Leapfrog Group announces its top hospitals for 2024

When The Leapfrog Group considers candidates for its annual Top Hospital Awards, the organization considers a host of different metrics in evaluating the best providers.

Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, says the organization also considers one key factor.

“We start with the premise that we will select hospitals where we would send our loved ones, and we therefore set a very high standard for what we expect in terms of quality and safety in those hospitals,” Binder tells Chief Healthcare Executive®.

Today, the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization focused on patient safety, named 134 recipients of Top Hospital Awards. The organization recognized general hospitals, pediatric hospitals, teaching hospitals, and rural hospitals.

The organization also announced Top Ambulatory Surgery Center Awards, which were given to 31 recipients.

The Leapfrog Group is known for its hospital safety grades, which are issued twice a year. So it’s likely no surprise that in issuing its Top Hospital Awards, the group looks at key safety metrics, including lower infection rates, maternal health care, and the prevention of medication errors.

“Patient safety, of course, is a core of Leapfrog's work. So patient safety is a fundamental principle for any hospital that achieves our top hospital designation,” Binder says.

(See part of our conversation with Leah Binder. The story continues below.)

Communication and billing

In addition, the Leapfrog Group also looks at how well hospitals are communicating with patients in order to help them decide on courses of treatment.

“That's a fairly new standard on the LeapFrog survey,” Binder says. “Do they manage consent in a way that is the most accessible to the patient and best for the patient?”

The group also examines “ethical billing practices” in selecting its top hospitals, she says.

In examining the billing processes, Binder says, “Do they adhere to ethical billing practices that assure that patients are not unfairly sued or pestered when they can't make resolutions of their obligations in a humane and respectful way?”

Binder says the group looks at billing policies and if hospitals do a good job in communicating the costs of treatment, as well as steering them to financial assistance programs or informing them of the availability of charity care.

“It's a true quality measure,” she says. “We feel strongly that, from the patient point of view, being treated with respect around payment will have an enormous impact on your outcome … in terms of your health.”

What sets them apart

The Leapfrog Group recognizes larger hospitals and smaller providers in rural areas. But Binder says there are some common traits among this year’s award winners.

First, Binder says, “They are relentlessly self-critical.”

“They never are satisfied with how they've done,” Binder says. “They're constantly, constantly pushing for higher and higher and higher. It's never, ever good enough, which I find encouraging when I hear it.”

Hospitals are also relentlessly focused on improving their safety measures.

“It also shows the level of respect that they have for their patients, that nothing is ever good enough for their patients, and that's why they are constantly, constantly trying to get better,” Binder says. “And that's what it takes for safety. I mean, it literally takes that level of relentlessness to be a truly safe institution, because you can't let your foot off the gas when it's safety.”

As far as lessons for other hospitals, Binder cites the value of transparency. “I think most top hospitals that we encounter are more transparent than they have to be,” she says.

“They're transparent to the public, and they're willing to be transparent, even when the story they have to tell may not be the greatest, most perfect story of performance,” she adds. “They're willing to tell all of where they lag and where they're doing well, and that that drives change. That ultimately galvanizes change. It brings the whole team together, brings everyone together with their eyes toward getting better.”

Recognizing standouts

The group recognized 15 rural hospitals with Top Hospital Awards, and Binder says those facilities deserve praise.

“I think that we've been very encouraged by what we've seen in some rural hospitals, and I also think it's really important for us to shine a light on them,” Binder says.

Rural hospitals get attention for their challenges, with many struggling to stay afloat financially. But Binder says the top hospitals are shining.

“Many of them really deserve a spotlight. They have done some extraordinary things. They are major contributors to their communities in really powerful ways, and we want to make sure that they're recognized when they do a great job,” Binder says.

Eight children’s hospitals also received Top Hospital Awards. In looking at the top pediatric facilities, Binder says the group looks closely at the patient experience.

“These hospitals have demonstrated their excellence in part because their patients say so, and that patients and their families say so,” Binder says.

She says she hopes other children’s hospitals share their patient experience data and vie for top hospital awards.

Parents are hungry for that information if their children need help, Binder says.

“I think if there's any kind of hospital that people will actually “shop for,” or people will go to another state to get into the right hospital, they'll do it for their children,” Binder says.

The Leapfrog Group honored 36 general hospitals and 75 teaching hospitals with Top Hospital Awards.

Here’s the full list of award winners. For full profiles of the hospitals, visit The Leapfrog Group’s website.

Top Children’s Hospitals

AdventHealth for Children

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital

Nicklaus Children’s Hospital

Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children

Wolfson Children’s Hospital

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt

Top Teaching Hospitals

Chandler Regional Medical Center

Mercy Gilbert Medical Center

Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch

Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Baldwin Park Medical Center

Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Jose

Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco

Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center

Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center

Kaiser Permanente Orange County-Irvine Medical Center

Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center

Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center

Loma Linda University Medical Center East Campus

Methodist Hospital of Sacramento

Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns

Sharp Memorial Hospital

Stanford Health Care

UCSF Health - Mission Bay

UCSF Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights

UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion

USC Norris Cancer Hospital

Hartford Hospital

MedStar Washington Hospital Center

AdventHealth Orlando

AdventHealth Winter Park

Lakewood Ranch Medical Center

Larkin Community Hospital

Orlando Health – Health Central Hospital

Orlando Health South Lake Hospital

Orlando Health- Orlando Regional Medical Center

Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies

Loretto Hospital

Rush University Medical Center

University of Chicago Medical Center

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Portland

MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital

MedStar St. Mary's Hospital

Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital

Brigham And Women's Hospital

Massachusetts General Hospital

Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Trinity Health Livingston Hospital

Mercy Hospital South

Mercy Hospital Springfield

Renown South Meadows Medical Center

Bergen New Bridge Medical Center

Englewood Hospital and Medical Center

Saint Michael's Medical Center

St. Luke's Warren Campus

Heart Hospital of New Mexico

Northern Dutchess Hospital

Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital

St. Francis Hospital Heart Center

Syosset Hospital

Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center

Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center

Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center

AHS Southcrest Hospital, LLC dba Hillcrest Hospital South

Hillcrest Medical Center

St. Luke's Easton Campus

St. Luke's Hospital - Allentown Campus

St. Luke's University Hospital - Bethlehem Campus

Prisma Health Baptist Hospital

Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital

Prisma Health Hillcrest Hospital

Prisma Health Laurens County Hospital

Prisma Health Patewood Hospital

Baylor Scott White Heart and Vascular Hospital Dallas

Seton Medical Center Harker Heights

UT Southwestern’s William. P. Clements Jr. University Hospital

UT Southwestern’s Zale Lipshy Pavilion

Inova Fair Oaks Hospital

Inova Fairfax Hospital

Inova Loudoun Hospital

Warren Memorial Hospital

St. Clare Hospital

Top General Hospitals

Bassett Army Community Hospital

Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Manteca

Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Modesto

Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael

Mercy Hospital of Folsom

Montclair Hospital Medical Center

Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center

Sutter Davis Hospital

Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center of Santa Cruz

AdventHealth Castle Rock

Windham Community Memorial Hospital

AdventHealth Altamonte Springs

AdventHealth Apopka

AdventHealth DeLand

AdventHealth New Smyrna Beach

AdventHealth Murray

Provident Hospital of Cook County

Addison Gilbert Hospital

Mercy Hospital Jefferson

North Vista Hospital

Catholic Health System - Kenmore Mercy Hospital

White Plains Hospital

Hoke Healthcare

Iredell Memorial Hospital

Novant Health Kernersville Medical Center

Novant Health Matthews Medical Center

Mount Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital

Independence Health System Frick Hospital

Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center

UPMC Carlisle

Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center

Roper St. Francis Healthcare - Berkeley Hospital

Roper St. Francis Healthcare - Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital

Roper St. Francis Healthcare - Mount Pleasant Hospital

Dallas Medical Center

Fauquier Health

Top Rural Hospitals

Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital

St. Elizabeth Community Hospital

Beebe Specialty Surgical Hospital

AdventHealth Wauchula

Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital

MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital

FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital - Hoke

Watauga Medical Center

Coshocton Regional Medical Center

Hillcrest Hospital Pryor

St. Luke's Monroe Campus

Prisma Health Oconee Memorial Hospital

AdventHealth Rollins Brook

UT Health Carthage

UT Health Pittsburg